And, unfortunately, expensive, too, linebacker. That was the last board the wood dealer had of exhibition grade Nicaraguan cocobolo and I had to bid on it against pro bass luthiers ($150 did it).

what wood is the fingerboard and what kind of pups are you putting in?

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That was a real trip!!! I found a dealer with a log of quilted cocobolo. 5 minutes before Dave called the dealer up at my request to get a board, Alembic came in and bought the entire log.

So, I phoned the dealer and asked, "Well, what do I do now???" He said he just got a log of fiddleback mirindiba (a.k.a. yellow sanders) found by Amerisan Indians on the floor of the Brazilian rainforest, (incredibly rare).
This wood dealer knows bass guitars, said it would make a wonderful fretboard, so I jumped on it.

Dave graciously sent a sample to me after I bought it. The side Dave sanded was as smooth, dense, and hard as glass. The only problem was the wood looks seasick yellow with grey streaks. So Dave used a chemical process on it for a decent additional cost that wouldn't wear out like a stain or dye, to bring out the fiddleback figure. Pics I put up later should display the figure better.

This is the best I have for now showing the wood as it arrived from the rainforest and what it looks like without the fleur-de-lis inlay after Dave's chemical process (but it still doesn't do anywhere near justice because the figure on the sample I have actually refracts lighting depending on how the wood is turned; like one of those pencil sharpeners for kids that displays a different picture depending on how you turn it!!!) -

The bridge pup is an Alnico V MM pup that Basslines made in their Custom Shop w/their MM preamp + slap circuit.
The soapbar is a 4-coil Bart.....one for beauty and warmth, one for destruction and madness

Originally posted by Richard Lindsey
Wow! That's a beauty, rick. Is the body solid cocobolo, or is it just the top? And I forget, what is the neck made of?

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Hi, Richard.........(fellow vet bassist!)

The back is California claro walnut burl, about 300 years old. The pic below is an old pic that doesn't do justice. But until Jeff Rader comes back from his business trip to put the latest pics up on my online photo album, these pics will have to do -

The admirable thing Dave did was that I spec'd a cavity cover for the 18V preamp which kept the wood figure contiguous and wrapped around the side so it "disappeared" as much as possible into the back of the bass, like an Elrick......but BETTER than Rob Elrick ever did it.

The neck is another ringer. Dave just happened to stumble on some rock maple that has birdseye AND quilted figure. The center is purpleheart. For my money, a great neck for a rock n' roll bass is purpleheart and rock maple.

From the pic (shown below) I think Dave exhibited great skill for the cavity cover and keeping the figure contiguous.....an art he hasn't been asked to execute before -

But, looks aside, you know after all these years between us ---- the proof is all in the sound.

Originally posted by Da5id HeX I consider myself a metalhead, and I dig it!

Sorry to ruin it for you.

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Dayumm, Da5id!!!! You're breaking the mold....you all are supposed to only like black, Goth, plastic-y looking things with names likes "Satan's Sperm Bass" or "Warlock Widow's Funeral" and the B string sounds instiinguishable from the G!!!